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June 15, 2009

Following approximately 18 months of planning across campus, I am pleased to announce that we will acquire the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions suite of software from Oracle and begin implementation of a new student information system in July 2009. We will be assisted in the effort by technology consultants Ciber, Inc.

A subset of the System Evaluation Team conducted day-long working sessions with three selected implementation vendors to refine our understanding of the work proposed and the associated costs. The goal of the effort was to insure that, once a vendor was selected, there would be a clear, common understanding of the responsibilities of the vendor and of university staff, and that every possible efficiency was achieved.

This team shared its recommendations with the entire System Evaluation Team which in turn presented its recommendations to the Executive Steering Committee. These recommendations were accepted and then endorsed by the President and the Cabinet.

The university entered into contracts to acquire PeopleSoft Campus Solutions suite of software and to secure the services of Ciber, Inc. for assistance with implementation.

Jan Hanish, Assistant Vice President for Administration and Financial Services, has been named to lead the project implementation. Mike Holmes, Information Technology Specialist for the Division of Student Affairs, has been named project manager.

July 6 has been determined as the start date for the implementation effort and plans for a fall semester series of informational sessions are in process.

Additional information has been added to the FAQ section of this website, and details about the items mentioned in this letter will be shared as they are developed.

Thanks are due to many for helping us achieve this important milestone:

The 23-members System Evaluation Team spent many hours developing and implementing the process that resulted in the decisions announced here. They came from across campus with a common goal and performed admirably for the benefit of the entire university.

More than 200 faculty, staff and students took time to complete our online needs assessment process, attend working meetings that helped define what we needed in a new system, and/or attend and provide feedback on vendor presentations. This input was essential.

Special thanks to Jan Hanish and Dennis Lindner for their leadership and perseverance.

As we look ahead, there is much work that remains. In fact, the more difficult part of the project is clearly ahead of us. I am confident that we will work together effectively to make this transition a success, and that we will put UNI in a position to serve students well for many years to come.